Russian icon depicting Virgin and child, 19th century

Height x width: 31 x 26.5 cm.

the Virgin holds the Child with her right arm, while her right hand points at him. This composition is known as the Virgin Eleusa (Eleusa = benevolent in Greek, later translated as Tenderness or Umileniye in Russian), which conveyed very well the content of the Fedorovskaya Tenderness type image and depicts the Mother of God according to the canons of the miraculous icon ‘Mother of God of St. Theodore’ from the Dormition Cathedral in Kostroma, which itself closely resembles the Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir. The Virgin wears the maphorion, symbolising her royalty and sacredness. The Virgin's gaze is melancholic and reflective and conveys empathy and protection.